The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-07-01
Pollen from Squash and Gu cumbe1
Flowers.

A bulletin of the Iowa Agricultural
College states that various species of
the melon family will ripen fruit when
the female flowers do not receive pollen.
1t is an easy matter to exclude the &C.
cess of pollen to the pistils by covering
the female flowers with sacks of cotton
cloth, similar to those used in hybrid.
izing apples, plums, etc. On July 81,
one female flower (the only one in right
condition that day. of the white turban
squash was covered with cloth sack,
at the College farm. The flower was
about three inches long, the ovary be-
ing one inch broad. The corolla would
doubtless have opened the next morn
ing. Several female flowers of the vel.
low crook neck squash were covered in
like manner. These flowers were four
inches long, the ovaries being nearly
three. Six muskmelon flowers were
covered, and ten blossoms of the garden
cucumner. The total number of flow
ers covered was increased from day to
day as suitable buds were formed. At
the close of the experiment six of the
white turban squash flowers had been
sacked; fifteen of the yellow crook neck,
ten of the muskmelon and twenty of
the cucumber. The pumpkin would
have been gladly added to the list, but
no plants with suitable flowers could be
found. The ovaries of the sacked
flowers of the white turban squash
turned brown within two days after the
sacks were put on, and at the end of
five days were decayed, and in two
cases fallen from their support. In no
case was there any indication of vitality.
The uncovered female flowers close by
on the same plants had their ovaries
green and growing, and at the time of
writing (September 81 are maturing
squashes. Of the fifteen yellow crook.
necks, only one seemed to do equally
we'll with the uncovered, and this for
only short time. Several of the ovar-
les died away like those Of the white
turban; others kept green, or yellow,
for few days and increased somewhat
in size, but were not plump. They
had deep burrows running lengthwise,
shortly became fabby and finally with
cred away and dropped from the vines.
The single specimen that for the first
few days kept plump finally went the
way of all the rest, so that among the
squashes there were only negative re-
suits.
The muskmelons, with single ex.
ception, stopped their growth at the |
time when the stigmas were ready to
receive pollen. The exceptional spec
linen grew to be an inch in diameter
and then ceased to increase in size and |
away. The cucumbers prov.
ed no exception to the general rule.
The ovaries quickly turned drown and
fell from the plants as half decayed,
half.dried substance. A sack was plac
ed over flower that was in bloom and
the fruit of this grew to full size like
those around it on all sides. The in.
sects are very abundant upon these
plants and faithful to the last degree in
pollen from the male to the fe.
male flowers. This important work for
the squashas is performed by bees,
principally humble bees Several OBJ
were made to determine the
length of time flower is in bloom.
The flowers of the squash, for example,
are open very early in the morning
before sunrise. At six o'clock A. NJ,
the flowers were fully open and the
honey bees busy in gathering nectar and
pollen. Strings were tied on
certain flower buds and their progress
watched from day to day. As far as
observations go, no flowers of squashes,
melons or cucumbers open more than
once. A humble bee was found one
imprisoned in squash flower,
the parts of the large corolla having
doubtless folded in upon him the day
before. All the flowers observed,
closed or withered up by noon of the
10 unor xub;oh tbox oooool